There are two things that have always haunted me: the brutality of the European traders and the stories I've heard about Africans selling other Africans into slavery.
Henry Louis GatesRead
The only people who live in a post-black world are four people who live in a little white house on Pennsylvania Avenue. The idea that America is post-racial or post-black because a man I admire, Barack Obama, is president of the United States, is a joke. And I hope no one will even wonder about this crazy fiction again.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques the notion of a post-racial America, emphasizing that societal issues of race and identity persist despite the election of a Black president.
Henry Louis Gates argues against the optimistic belief that America has moved beyond racial issues simply because Barack Obama, a Black man, became president. He highlights that this notion is naive and dismisses the ongoing struggles related to race and identity, suggesting that the complexities of racial dynamics cannot be simplified by one individual’s achievements. Gates implies that the term 'post-black' undermines the continued relevance of racial identity and the realities faced by many in America.
Themes
RaceIdentityPoliticsObamaPost-RacialSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a panel discussion about race relations in America, this quote could be used to emphasize ongoing challenges despite perceived progress.
More from Henry Louis Gates
All quotes →It's not white versus black any more, it's haves versus have-nots. Unless the black middle-classes unite to promote the interests of the black underclass, tension between them is inevitable. What we, the black middle class have to do, is think of a strategy to avert that.
Henry Louis GatesRead
In America there is institutional racism that we all inherit and participate in, like breathing the air in this room - and we have to become sensitive to it.
Henry Louis GatesRead
In fact, the class divide in the black community is now seen by some as a permanent aspect of our existence.
Henry Louis GatesRead
The historical basis for the gap between the black middle class and underclass shows that ending discrimination, by itself, would not eradicate black poverty and dysfunction. We also need intervention to promulgate a middle-class ethic of success among the poor, while expanding opportunities for economic betterment.
Henry Louis GatesRead
Very few, if any, first-generation black or white or Asian kids will pursue a Ph.D. They'll pursue the professions for economic security. Many will go to law school and/or business school.
Henry Louis GatesRead
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